Door banking apparatus



Nov. 30, 1965 J. T. SEFCHECK DOOR BANKING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed May 13, 1964 H [II INVENTOR. Joseph 7. Sefchec/r NOV. 1965 .1. T.SEFCHECK DOOR BANKING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 13, 1964INVENTOR.

Joseph T. Sefchec/r United States Patent 3,220,574 DGOR BANKINGAPPARATUS Joseph T. Sefcheck, Johnstown, Pa, assignor, by mesneassignments, to Bethlehem Steel Corporation, a corporation of DelawareFiled May 13, 1964, Ser. No. 367,163 7 Claims. (Cl. 21431) Thisinvention relates to apparatus for banking the doors of a metallurgicalfurnace with refractory material, particularly the doors of an openhearth furnace.

It is well known to those skilled in the steelmaking art to which thisapparatus pertains that the doors of an open hearth furnace must bebanked with a suitable refractory material, such as raw or burneddolomite, during every heat. The purpose of banking the doors is toraise the effective sill plate level of the doors in order to preventthe overflow of molten steel and to control the overflow of slag duringa heat.

The usual practice of banking doors involves the utilization of adolomite throwing machine. The throwing machine is moved by an overheadcrane and positioned to project refractory material to the desiredlocated on the top of a door sill plate. A bafile is used to assist theplacement of material. The bafile is normally positioned at the end of along handle which is pivoted upon the frame of the dolomite machine andmanipulated by a furnace helper standing alongside the machine. In manyinstances the banking must be completed by manually placing a fewshovels full of refractory on the sills, particularly at the corners ofthe door frame.

The above described manner of banking the doors of a metallurgicalfurnace has certain drawbacks. Even with a baflle, the dolomite machineand hand shoveling do not always accurately position the refractory onthe sill plate, and there is a waste of material. During the period whenthe doors are being banked the fuel to the burners is cut back, thefurnace pressure is reduced and one or more doors are open resulting ina loss of furnace heat. At times, when the doors are ready to be banked,a floor crane is not available for transporting and positioning thedolomite machine. Thus, the heat time is lengthened, because the hotmetal can not be charged into the furnace until the door banking hasbeen completed. In addition to eliminating these undesirable features ofthe previous method of banking doors and allows the hot metal to becharged into the furnace earlier than was previously the case. A fasthot metal charge reduces the heat time, particularly in oxygen furnaceswhere the lances can not be lowered into the bath until after the hotmetal is in the furnace.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that willdistribute refractory material upon the sill plate of an open hearthdoor frame more accurately and uniformly than will apparatus nowavailable.

Another object is to provide mechanical means which will eliminate therequirement for any hand shoveling of refractory material to bank thedoors of metallurgical furnaces.

Another object is to eliminate any reliance upon the floor cranes of anopen hearth shop for assistance in banking furnace doors.

Another object is to provide a door banking unit that may be detachablymounted on the peel of a furnace charging machine to facilitatehandling.

It is a still further object of the present invention to eliminate thepractice of cutting back the fuel to the burners and reducing thepressure of an open hearth furnace during the time when the doors arebeing banked.

The present invention relates to a cylindrical-shaped container that isdesigned to be used to bank furnace doors in conjunction with the usualopen hearth furnace charging machine. A screw assembly fixed within thecontainer causes aggregate material to be fed from the discharge end ofthe unit when the container is rotated about its longitudinal axis bythe manipulation of a charging machine peel upon which it is mounted.

An embodiment of an apparatus in accordance with the invention isillustrated, by way of example, in the accompanying drawings in whichFIGURE 1 is a top plan view of the door banker.

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal section of the shell of the banker on line 22of FIGURE 1 and having the interior of the banker in elevation toillustrate the internal construtcion.

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view of the banker on line 33 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a View illustrating the door banker mounted upon the peel ofa charging machine and positioned to discharge material onto a furnacedoor sill.

FIGURE 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the upper half of theshell of the banker on line 5-5 of FIGURE 2.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the present invention comprises adoor banker 16 having a cylindrical body portion 11 with a back end 12and a forward end 13. Plate 14 is fixed to the body portion 11 in anysuitable manner and closes its back end 12. Connected to the forward end13 of body portion 11, is truncated conical portion 15 at the apex ofwhich is discharge opening 16. Plate 14 is provided with a standardcharging box head 17 for operatively engaging the peel of a chargingmachine.

Duplex screw assembly 18 extends through door banker 10 and is fixedtherein in any suitable manner, as by welding. Shaft 19 of screwassembly 18 has a straight portion 20 within body portion 11, and atapered forward portion 21 within conical portion 15 of banker 1t). Tapered forward portion 21 of shaft 19 has a back end 22 and a forward end23. Helical blade section 24 of screw assembly 13 extends through and isjoined to the inside surface of body portion 11. Helical blade section24 has a back edge 25 and a forward edge 26 and is mounted upon straightportion 20 of shaft 19. Tapered screw or spiral blade section 27 ofscrew assembly 18 extends through and is joined to the inside surface ofconical portion 15 and decreases in diameter and pitch at it approachesdischarge opening 16. Preferably, spiral blade section 27 is made withtwo spirals 28 and 29 separated by 180, as shown in FIGURE 3, to providea more uniform rate of discharge of aggregate from the banker than canbe achieved with only a single spiral. Spiral blade section 27 ismounted on tapered forward portion 21 of shaft 19 and begins at back end22 thereof, at point 30, for spiral 2S, and at point 31, for spiral 29.

FIGURE 3 shows in detail the exact location of beginning point 30 ofspiral 28 with respect to forward edge 26 of helical blade section 24.Point 36, which lies in approximately the same transverse plane ofbanker 10 as does forward edge 26 of helical blade setcion 24, isseparated from edge 26 and leads it in the same transverse plane by anangle of approximately In like fashion, beginning point 31 of spiral 29,which is separated from spiral 28 by also lies in approximately the sametransverse plane of banker 10 as does forward edge 26 of helical bladesection 24 and is separated from it but follows it in the sametransverse plane by an angle of approximately 90.

To load door banker 10, body portion 11 is provided with alongitudinally extending load-receiving opening 32. Doors 33 pivotallyconnected by means of hinges 34- to body portion 11 extend acrossopening 32 and are locked in the closed position by latches 35 when thedoor banker is filled with aggregate and ready for use.

The door banker is usually stored at some convenient location betweenfurnaces where it is readily available for use and where it can becharged in some suitable manner, as from an overhead hopper. When thedoors of a furnace are to be banked, a charging machine operator engagesthe peel 36 of his charging machine with the charging box head 17 of thebanker 10 and carries it to the furnace. A door 37 of the furnace isopened, and charging machine peel is manipulated to position the outletopening 16 of the banker 10 just within the door opening 38. Theoperator then rotates the charging machine peel 36 causing banker 10 torotate and discharge refractory aggregate material from its dischargeopening 16. At the same time, the charging machine operator also moveshis machine slowly along its tracks whereby banker 10 moves across thefurnace opening and discharges refractory aggregate 39 uniformly alongthe sill plate 40. Banker 10 is then withdrawn from door opening 38,carried to the next door and the operation repeated in similar fashionuntil all the doors of the furnace have been banked.

In a specific embodiment of the invention as described, door banker 10was designed with a capacity of approximately thirty (30) cu. ft. whichwas adequate to bank five (5) doors of a 180 ton open hearth furnacewith granular dolomite. Helical blade section 24 had a pitch of 2'0" andtapered blade section 27 was formed with two spirals, 180 apart, whichmade 1 /2 turns within conical portion 15.

While one embodiment of my invention has been illustrated and described,it will be understood that there may be various embodiments within thegeneral scope of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A door banking device adapted to be rotated about its longitudinalaxis whereby aggregate material contained therein is dischargedtherefrom when operatively engaged by a metallurgical furnace chargingmachine peel, said device comprising (a) a cylindrical body portion aforward end,

(b) plate means attached to said body portion and closing the back endthereof,

(c) head means attached to said plate means to operatively engage saidcharging machine peel,

(d) a truncated conical portion attached to the forward end of said bodyportion,

(e) a discharge opening at the apex of said conical portion,

(f) duplex screw means within said device, said means comprising astraight helical screw section and a varying pitch tapered screwsection, and

(g) a load receiving opening in said body portion.

2. The door banking device of claim 1 in which the tapered screw sectioncomprises a plurality of spirals.

3. The door banking device of claim 1 in which the tapered screw sectioncomprises two spirals 180 apart.

4. A door banking device adapted to be rotated about its longitudinalaxis whereby aggregate material contained therein is dischargedtherefrom when operatively engaged by a metallurgical furnace chargingmachine peel, said device comprising (a) a cylindrical body a forwardend,

(b) plate means attached to said body portion and closing the back endthereof,

(c) head means attached to said plate means to operatively engage saidcharging machine peel,

(d) a truncated conical portion attached to the forward end of said bodyportion,

having a back end and portion having a back end and (e) a dischargeopening at the apex of said conical i portion, (f) duplex screw meanswithin said device, said means comprising a straight helical screwsection within said body portion and a variable pitch tapered screwsection within said truncated conical portion, and

(g) a load receiving opening in said body portion.

5. The door banking device of claim 4 in which said straight helicalscrew section is fixed at its outer edge to the inner surface of saidbody portion and said tapered screw section is fixed at its outer edgeto the inner surface of said conical portions.

6. A door banking device adapted to be rotated about its longitudinalaxis whereby aggregate material contained therein is dischargedtherefrom when operatively engaged by a metallurgical furnace chargingmachine peel, said device comprising (a) a cylindrical body portionhaving a back end and a forward end,

(b) plate means attached to said body portion and closing the back endthereof,

(c) head means attached to said plate means to operatively engage saidcharging machine peel,

(d) a truncated conical portion attached to the forward end of said bodyportion,

(e) a discharge opening at the apex of said conical portion,

(f) a helical blade section fixed at its outer edge to the inner wall ofsaid body portion,

(g) a varying pitch tapered blade section fixed at its outer edge to theinner wall of said conical portion, and

(h) a load receiving opening extending longitudinally of said bodyportion.

7. A door banking device adapted to be rotated about its longitudinalaxis whereby aggregate material contained therein is dischargedtherefrom when operatively engaged by a metallurgical furnace chargingmachine peel, said device comprising (a) a cylindrical body portionhaving a back end and a forward end,

(b) plate means attached to said body portion and closing the back endthereof,

(c) head means attached to said plate means to operatively engage saidcharging machine peel,

(d) a truncated conical portion attached to the forward end of said bodyportion,

(e) a discharge opening at the apex of said conical portion,

(f) duplex screw means within said device, said means comprising a shafthaving a straight portion and a forward tapered portion, said taperedforward portion having a back end and a forward end, a helical bladesection mounted upon the straight portion of said shaft and having aback edge and a forward edge, and a varying pitch tapered blade sectionmounted upon the forward tapered portion of said shaft, said taperedblade section beginning at said back end of forward tapered portion at apoint which lies in approximately the same transverse plane of saidbanker as does said forward edge of said helical blade section and isseparated therefrom and leads it in the same transverse plane by anangle of approximately and (g) a load receiving opening extendinglongitudinally of said body portion.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,329,293 1/1920Clark 214-32 1,340,156 5/1920 Clark et al. 214-21 HUGO O. SCHULZ,Primary Examiner,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No.3,220,574 November 30, 1965 Joseph T. Sefcheck It is hereby certifiedthat error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction andthat the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below Column 1,line 46, after "doors" insert the invention reduces the amount of timerequired to bank the doors Signed and sealed this 27th day of September1966.

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER EDWARD J. BRENNER Attesting Officer Commissioner ofPatents

1. A DOOR BANKING DEVICE ADAPTED TO BE ROTATED ABOUT ITS LONGITUDINALAXIS WHEREBY AGGREGATE MATERIAL CONTAINED THEREIN IS DISCHARGEDTHEREFROM WHEN OPERATIVELY ENGAGED BY A METALLURGICAL FURNACE CHARGINGMACHINE PEEL, SAID DEVICE COMPRISNG (A) A CYLINDRICAL BODY PORTIONHAVING A BACK END AND A FORWARD END, (B) PLATE MEANS ATTACHED TO SAIDBODY PORTION AND CLOSING THE BACK END THEREOF, (C) HEAD MEANS ATTACHEDTO SAID PLATE MEANS TO OPERATIVELY ENGAGE SAID CHARGING MACHINE PEEL,